Building material duty freeze extended

The government has announced it is extending the 15 percent import duty rate on building materials imported to Grand Cayman until Dec. 31 2017.

The government has extended a 15 percent import duty rate on building materials imported to Grand Cayman until Dec. 31, 2017.

Marco Archer, minister for finance and economic development, said, “The construction sector continues to improve and has contributed to strong economic growth in 2015 as well as in the first six months of 2016. But raising the import duty rate at this time may dampen the sector’s recovery.”

The normal rate of duty on construction materials is between 17 percent and 22 percent. The building material import duty concession of 15 percent first took effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and has been extended since then.

Mr. Archer said building materials are defined as: “All physical components and substances, whether solid or liquid, used in the construction, renovation or restoration and forming a permanent part of any building or related structure.”

On Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, a 100 percent import duty waiver on building materials will remain in place until Dec. 31 2020.

Also, a 100 percent stamp duty waiver for land purchases on the Brac is in place until Dec. 31, as will an import duty concessionary rate of 12.5 cents per gallon on the importation of motor gasoline to Cayman Brac.

2 COMMENTS

Why does Government have to give sister Islands a 100% waiver on land purchase , and building materials too , and 12.5 cents per gallon of gasoline imports till 2020 ? Is this to help the Citizens of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac ? Or who ? Or who can buy up all the land , and build the most buildings in that time . Then what happened in this 3 years the Islands could becomes over developed , and the Government received no revenue , and the people might get 3 years of employment, and possibly one person owning pretty much everything on the Islands.

I think that if Government had given a 50% waiver that would have been a good incentive for development of the Islands .

People / Citizens , how can we just sit down and let Government do as they wants to do ? Here we have two very important subjects matters that the Cayman Compass newspaper has brought to the public attention , i. E. The 100% discount on land purchase / stamp duty , 100% discount on building materials imports . and 12.5 cents per gallon of gasoline imports on sister Islands , and another subject the dirt bike fiasco on the Island that threatens all road users. Here I am reading and seeing no action from the people on these issues.

We have to remember that the Cayman Compass job is to bring these matters to our attention in a form of news , but it’s our sevic duty to take action against these issues